Science fiction author Ray Bradbury sits in front of a photo of Mars, presented to him during an 83rd birthday party in his honor on Aug. 23, 2003.

Ray Bradbury, master of the sci-fi fantasy and author of Fahrenheit 451, died Tuesday at 91.

The man who chronicled dystopian societies had strong political beliefs and spoke as darkly about contemporary politics as he did about burning books.

"I think our country is in need of a revolution," the Los Angeles Times quoted him as saying in 2010. "There is too much government today. We've got to remember the government should be by the people, of the people and for the people."

A Ohio Tea Party blog later quoted him on it, and the conservative blog All American Blogger wrote: "I think Ray is ready to lead the Tea Party movement."

On Clinton: "Clinton is a sh*thead and we're glad to be rid of him. And I'm not talking about his sexual exploits. I think we have a chance to do something about education... We should have done it years ago." - Interview with Salon, 2001

On Reagan: "Reagan was our greatest president. He lowered our taxes and gave the money back to the people." - At Comic-Con in 2010

On Obama: "He should be announcing that we should go back to the moon... We should never have left there. We should go to the moon and prepare a base to fire a rocket off to Mars and then go to Mars and colonize Mars. Then when we do that, we will live forever." - Quoted in Los Angeles Times in 2010

According to fan site Bradbury Media, the writer once declared in an interview all politicians to be fools.

Unfortunately not all sci fi writers share Bradbury’s vision of liberty. Just last week Elizabeth Moon who writes some good mil sci fi said that she believed all people should be bar coded so they can be easily identified and located. Bradbury would recoil at that suggestion. RIP Mr Bradbury.

I JUST bought my book-loving teen Fahrenheit 451 last week. She loves to read, and I wanted her to read some classics, so I bought that, Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. I didn’t realize he had died yesterday. I am honestly so sad. Something Wicked This Way Comes was an absolute favorite of mine.

She will get to them. I picked those three because I loved them when I was her age (13). I enjoyed the books you mentioned when I got a bit older. Plus, she loved Hunger Games, so I thought LotF would be a good way for her to see how modern fiction is inspired. I picked Animal Farm because hubby and I talk politics a lot, and I thought it was a good choice to introduce her. I picked Fahrenheit 451 because I loved it so much, period. I have so many to introduce to her, but her school has no required reading, and I kind of just try to judge best what she is ready for right now.

I was thinking Bradbury must have been one of the last authors whose initial works originally appeared in old pulp magazines (before they were replaced by paperbacks and the somewhat ‘similar to pulp’ digests).

Silverburg, C L Moore, so many. Robert E. Howard remains my favorite. Fortunately there are still a lot of good fantasy and sci-fi writers out there, even in the miasma of PC. Terry Brooks comes to mind. There was a grandeur and austerity to the older writers though that seems to be missing now. The focus now seems to be on more personal, intimate portrayals rather than archetypes.

Rambling paragraph, sorry. Been working long hours to keep my business up.

18
posted on 06/06/2012 4:25:47 PM PDT
by Psalm 144
("I'm not willing to light my hair on fire to try and get support. I am who I am." - Willard M Romney)

Speaking of which, Barnes & Nobles' website (and I presume store too) has their buy two B&N classics and get one free sale going on again. And if you can't decide, just buy 199 books for $562. Or if you and a couple of friends want the sets you can buy two get one free on the big set too.

29
posted on 06/06/2012 5:16:12 PM PDT
by KarlInOhio
(You only have three billion heartbeats in a lifetime.How many does the government claim as its own?)

When in college (too many years ago to mention WHEN) I interviewed Ray for our little tv station. Since he didn’t drive, I had to go to his house in LA to pick him up!! He was charming, funny, angry, and curious, all at once. A very interesting man.

One of my favorite works by Bradbury is “Time Enough For Love” — most particularly the two paragraphs titled “Intermission: Excerpts from the notebooks of Lazarus Long.” The excerpts are sayings by Lazarus, and I’m a big fan of ditties that condense great wisdom into a handful of words.

(Lazarus, for those unfamiliar with the story, is a gentleman of immense age, far exceeding even his fellow members of a secret society which breeds for longevity.)

Some of my favorites from Lazarus —

“Get off a shot fast! This upsets him long enough to make your second shot perfect.”

“A ‘pacifist male’ is a contradiction in terms. Most self-described pacifists are not pacific; they simply assume false colors. When the wind changes, they hoist the Jolly Roger.”

“There is only one way to console a widow. But remember the risk.”

“Never appeal to a man’s ‘better nature.’ He may not have one. Invoking his ‘self-interest’ gives you more leverage.”

“You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.”

“Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.”

“People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is shy half a slug who must tighten his belt.”

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal. fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

“Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy.”

“Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.”

“If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business because we’d be cynical. Well that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.”

(Sorry for the long post but Ray Bradbury was a treasure.)

31
posted on 06/06/2012 5:17:03 PM PDT
by DNME
(A monarch's neck should always have a noose around it. It keeps him upright.  Robert Heinlein)

What really makes me sad/sick is that not only have so few youth today ever read him, but they don’t even know how he was. Or care. Reading for pleasure, and I don’t mean a Facebook page, is almost dead. It’s dying with Gen X as so few Millenials seem to care for the idea of sitting down with a good book.

I feel sorry for them. There is no greater pleasure one can have fully clothed than a walk through a used book store and the very smell of all that ‘mind food’.

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